Chelsea defender, Antonio Rudiger says it will be a big loss if Willian joins London rivals, Arsenal in the summer transfer window.
The Brazilian who is out of contract at Chelsea has been left out of The Blues team which faces Bayern Munich in the round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League.
The West London club was willing to offer the 31-year-old a two-year contract which is a year short of his demands.
The Gunners are reportedly leading the race to sign Willian on a three-year deal.
Speaking ahead of Chelsea’s clash against the German super club, Rudiger says Willian is an important player to the club and losing him will be a huge loss.
“He is his own man and he makes decisions for himself,” Rudiger said. “I don’t know what the situation is yet.
“But if he goes, it will be a huge loss for us. Especially after the restart people could see he was very important for us.”
The German international further stated that Willian is a player young players can profit from him. The likes of Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli can feed off the out-of-contract Chelsea player if he joins Mikel Arteta’s setup.
“He’s someone who is not really vocal, he’s not a guy to speak too much but on the pitch he does his stuff.
“After training, he is always shooting, trying to improve.
“As a young kid, if you look at him it is an honour to train with someone like him to see and ask questions. That is massive for the young guys.”
